Nigeria can produce eight million metric tonnes of fertiliser every year. The programme lead for the African Fertiliser Initiative with the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), Sebastian Nduva, made this known while speaking at the NPK Technical Working Group Validation Workshop in Abuja.

The expert said Nigeria had the largest number of registered fertilizer blending plants in Africa and is close to being self-sufficient in NPK fertiliser production.

“Nigeria has 70 registered fertiliser blending plants in the country. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of the major farm inputs, among other factors, about 500,000mt is demanded,” he said.

Mr Nduva also said the high cost of fertilisers was due to the importation of 40 per cent of raw materials used for fertiliser production, the local price of the farm input influenced by global forces, currency devaluation, conflicts in Eastern Europe has affected the sourcing market among other factors.

He said stakeholders believe that if the government can take advantage of local production and the efficient and transparent system along with the procurement and distribution of fertiliser, it will help reduce farmers’ costs.

Also speaking, the senior special assistant to the president on agribusiness and productivity enhancement, Kingsley Uzoma, commended the IFDC for aligning with the government’s objective to enhance food security.

Mr Uzoma said with the data provided on the dashboard, the federal government can offer valuable guidance to potential investors in the fertiliser industry.

He suggested the need for the programme to consider including fertiliser quality, saying the inclusion would provide a more comprehensive overview of the industry, benefiting both investors and government initiatives.

The president of the Fertiliser Producers and Supplier Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Abubakar Kasim, recalled that President Bola Tinubu rolled out plans to distribute fertilisers to farmers.

The FEPSAN president also agreed that the fertiliser blending plants in the country have installed a capacity of eight million metric tonnes of NPK but have never produced beyond two million metric tonnes due to a lack of raw materials foreign exchange, among other limitations.

Airlines in Nigeria have urged the federal government to provide a window of “special funding” for operators of local airlines in the nation’s aviation sector.

Top Brass Aviation Limited CEO Roland Iyay made the call on behalf of the AON during a visit to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyomo, in Abuja on Monday.

He said the call for providing a window of special funding for operators in aviation was necessitated due to the nature of the aviation business and its growing contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“We are just asking for a special funding window that should be of a single digit, and that is easily accessible. We want FG to create a special funding window for domestic Airlines for capital assets acquisition and consider providing the necessary support of domestic Airlines for competitive funding through world-renowned funding organisations such as EXIM, EDC, and AFREXIM Bank.

“We plead for immediate revision of all ill-conceived stifling policies inimical to industry growth, adoption of an annual simulator Recurrent check for flight Crews and the adoption of the manufacturers’ recommended maintenance service intervals. Just as it is enshrined in the Aircraft Type Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) by the Nigeria Civil Aviation of Nigeria (NCAA),“ he said.

He appealed to the government for immediate review of all industry taxes and charges to determine applicability and quantum in line with the cost recovery model of the aviation Parastatals.

Mr Iyayi reiterated establishing and providing a dedicated support line for domestic Airline Operators to unfettered access to foreign exchange through the Central Bank of Nigeria in support of local and international transactions.

He called for the facilitation, liberalisation, procurement and distribution of Jet-A1 nationwide and allowing the AON to procure requisite licenses for product importation and distribution through strategic partnerships.

According to him, the government should ensure immediate prioritization of a modernisation programme for passengers and handling equipment at major Airports to manage passengers and associated baggage efficiently.

He added, “The government should prioritise the immediate installation and commissioning of bird hazard management equipment and FOD programmes at all Airports nationwide to enhance safety, reduce aircraft damage and increase insurance premiums.

“Embracing the PPP model with prospective investors for the establishment, tooling and operation of local MRO facilities and providing special incentives to encourage increased investments in the sector.”

Governor Abba Yusuf has offered a permanent and pensionable appointment to a casual worker at the Kano Pilgrims Welfare Board, Dayyabu Haladu, who returned missing $16,000 during the last Hajj operation in Saudi Arabia.

This was disclosed in a statement by the governor’s press secretary, Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Tuesday.

Mr Yusuf also offered him a gift of N1 million and an automatic slot for the forthcoming Hajj.

The governor disclosed this while receiving the board’s report for the 2023 Hajj. He expressed appreciation to the casual worker for displaying self-contentment.

Mr Yusuf said such character displayed by Mr Dayyabu was an excellent behaviour worthy of emulation by all and sundry.

“As a casual staff whose allowance is nothing to take home about, this gentleman managed to return the lost money. It shows how this person has a fear of Allah, and he deserved to be celebrated,” the governor said.

Mr Yusuf called on the people of Kano to maintain the hard-earned reputation of the state by showcasing the good virtues of trustworthiness, self-discipline and contentment so that they could live a happy life.

The casual worker revealed that he returned the lost money to the board due to godly fear, knowing well that it is improper to use what does not belong to him despite the current economic hardships.

He thanked the governor for the gesture, saying it was the most joyful moment of his life.

Meanwhile, the governor has promised that the famous tricyclist Auwalu Salisu, who returned a missing N16 million belonging to a foreigner, will soon be honoured by the government.

The governor said pointers have been indicating significant improvement in showing the extreme level of trustworthiness by the people of Kano, which, by extension, was projecting the good image of Kano.

The Enugu women on Monday held a special thanksgiving service in celebration of Governor Peter Mbah’s tribunal victory.

The Enugu governorship election petitions tribunal, on September 21, upheld Mr Mbah’s victory as the elected governor of Enugu in the March 18 poll.

The thanksgiving service, which began with the Holy Mass by Anthony Udeh, the Government House chaplain, had women from 17 LGAs and women support groups in attendance.

The Enugu State Prayer Network coordinator, Favour Ugwuanyi, said Enugu women gathered at Okpara Square, where they held their monthly prayer to thank God for the victory he gave to Mr Mbah.

According to her, women in Enugu meet at the venue every 9th of every month to pray for the Enugu government, Enugu, families and Nigeria at large.

“Women from all the offices, parastatals, 17 LGAs, political parties and 11 ministers of God, women support groups gathered here to celebrate what God did for Mbah and Enugu State at the tribunal,” she said.

Ms Ugwuanyi also called on those in opposition to support Mr Mbah, stressing that Enugu “belongs to all of us, and they should join hands together with the present government to make Enugu great.”

“People who say Mbah is not doing any project should have patience with him because it is too early to judge, adding that six months is not enough to lay foundations,” stated Ms Ugwuanyi.

“They are in a hurry, and Mbah is going to make it. He has to set machinery on the ground, study the environment, problems and challenges, harvest decisions of people with his own to come up with solutions.”

Ngozi Enih, the Commissioner for Children and Gender Affairs and Social Development, lauded the women for attending the thanksgiving as “we are their zeal in holding monthly prayers for the state.”

While urging women to continue their prayers for Enugu State, Enih said their prayers would enable Mr Mbah to achieve his plan for the Enugu people.

She also lauded Mbah for paying N450 million counterpart fund to the World Bank for women in Enugu, which she said would not be a loan but a grant to them.

According to her, the gesture aligns with Mbah’s promise to end poverty in Enugu during his tenure in office.

Ms Enih said, “Among all the 36 states in Nigeria, Enugu state was the first state that paid N450 million counterpart fund for women, and so far only Enugu and Ondo states have paid the money.

To access the money, all you need to do is to register yourselves at poverty eradication and human development and then collect your certificate at our ministry and open an account.”

No fewer than six persons sustained various injuries when a petroleum tanker exploded on Monday at Sandaji Filling Station in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The tanker, which brought petroleum products to the filling station located at Jos Road Lafia, exploded around 12:00 p.m.

Comfort Igwe, a pump attendant at the station told journalists that the explosion occurred while the tanker was discharging its product.

She said it took the intervention of men of the fire service in collaboration with the Red Cross Society, police and other security agencies to quench the fire and return normalcy to the area.

The explosion also destroyed property worth millions of naira at the filling station, the witness said.

The witness explained that some staff members of the filling station and officials of Nasarawa State Fire Service sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.

Ombugu Joshua, acting director, Nasarawa State Fire Service said the command was yet to ascertain the cause of the outbreak.

He advised residents to always alert the service on time whenever they experience fire outbreak for prompt response.

Aircraft in the European Union (EU) would have to be fuelled in a more environmentally friendly way from 2025 under a new law.

From then on, there would be a quota on how much so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) must be blended in with conventional fuel, EU member states announced on Monday.

It officially approved a compromise previously reached with the European Parliament.

SAFs included fuels made from bio-waste; fuel derived from cooking oil as well as synthetically produced fuels.

“The quota for less harmful fuel will be set at 2 per cent for 2025 and gradually increase to 70 per cent by 2050,” a statement said.

Additionally, flights in the EU would have an environmental label from 2025, which takes into account the estimated carbon dioxide footprint of a flight per passenger.

This is meant to enable travellers to better compare the environmental impact of different flights.

The new law is part of the EU’s far-reaching ambitions to tackle climate change, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by at least 55 per cent by 2030.

The Kano State House of Assembly, on Monday at the committee of the whole, passed the N58 billion supplementary budget submitted by Gov. Abba Yusuf.

Speaking after passing the budget, the majority leader, Lawan Hussaini (NNPP- Dala) said that the budget would enable the state government to execute developmental projects.

Mr Hussaini said that the budget would help the administration to achieve its development target and appreciated his colleagues for their contributions toward its speedy passage.

He said that the passage of the supplementary budget had raised the 2023 budget of the state to N326 billion.

He said that the House would monitor the implementation of the budget through effective oversight to ensure that funds allocated to projects were judiciously used.

Similarly, the House also presented a commendation letter and cash reward of N1.5 million to a tricycle rider Auwalu Danbaba who returned about N10 million forgotten by a passenger in his tricycle.

Receiving the money, Mr Danbaba thanked the lawmakers for the gesture.

On Monday, four persons were killed on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway when a luxury bus rammed into a truck.

Three other persons sustained varying degrees of injuries in the accident.

Florence Okpe, Federal Road Safety Corps spokeswoman, in Ogun, confirmed the incident in Abeokuta.

She said the truck did not stop after the bus rammed into it while negotiating a bend around the Kara axis on the expressway.

Ms Okpe also said 21 people, 13 men and eight women, were involved in the crash.

She said the corpses were deposited at a morgue in Sagamu in Ogun, while the injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

Harvard University economist Claudia Goldin received the Economics Nobel Prize on Monday for her research on women in the workforce.

Ms Goldin, a professor, received this prestigious prize, officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, in appreciation of her significant academic contributions to understanding women’s roles and results in the labour market.

Ms Goldin’s innovative work has been praised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which noted that it has substantially improved our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes.

With the conclusion of this year’s Nobel Prize season, Ms Goldin becomes the 55th recipient of this distinguished honour and the third woman to do so since its founding in 1969.

Another 4.9 magnitude earthquake jolted western Afghanistan on Monday as the government’s death toll from Saturday’s quake reached more than 2,000.

The U.S. Geological Survey and residents in the area confirmed the new tremors.

“It was quite intense,” a doctor in the area described Monday’s quake to dpa. “People took shelter in parks, open spaces, and gardens.”

According to the health worker, the deadly earthquake on Saturday has negatively affected people’s mental health.

“Most of the patients are those who have mental shocks,” he added.

The 6.3 magnitude quake at the weekend destroyed at least 13 villages in Herat province’s Zindah Jan district.

Residents from other areas and rescue teams were still trying to remove bodies from under the rubble.

In many provinces, people are collecting donations for the victims.

Turkey, Iran and Pakistan have promised to provide urgent humanitarian assistance relief.

There are conflicting reports about the exact number of casualties.

The government announced 2,053 deaths and more than 1,200 wounded so far.

The UN Coordination Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it has recorded 1,023 deaths and 1,663 injured people, adding that more than 11,000 people have been affected by the tragedy.

Justice Ibironke Harrison of a Lagos High Court has sentenced a police officer, Drambi Vandi, to death by hanging for shooting a Lagos-based lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem, on the last Christmas Day.

Mr Vandi was arraigned on January 16 on a count of murder, but he pleaded not guilty.The court granted an accelerated hearing on the case.

The Lagos government alleged that the defendant shot Ms Raheem in the chest on December 25, 2022, at Ajah Roundabout on Lekki Expressway, Lagos State.

The murder contravenes Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The prosecution team, led by attorney general Moyosore Onigbanjo, called 11 witnesses, including eight police officers.

The other prosecution witnesses are two eyewitnesses and a pathologist.

Among the prosecution witnesses is Insp Matthew Ameh, who allegedly worked with the defendant at the time of the murder.

The prosecution closed its case on February 25, and on February 28, the defendant, through his counsel, Gbenro Gbadamosi, filed an application, praying the court to quash the charge against him.

Mr Gbadamosi argued that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses was inconsistent and did not link the defendant to the alleged murder.

On April 3, the court, however, dismissed the no-case submission.

Justice Ibironke Harrison held that the prosecution established sufficient oral and documentary evidence linking the defendant to the alleged crime, which required an explanation from him.

Ms Harrison added that evidence from the defendant would shed light on what happened.On May 31, the defendant gave evidence and closed his case.

His counsel had told the court that Mr Vandi was the sole defence witness.

On July 13, the parties adopted their written addresses, and the court reserved judgment until October 9.

Former Super Eagles captain Austin Jay Jay Okocha has reiterated his call for proper management of the Nigerian league to make it attractive to investors.

In an interview on Monday in Lagos, Okocha said he had earlier expressed an honest opinion about the Nigerian league being a less-fancied league.

The mercurial midfielder, who started his journey to stardom in football with Rangers International FC in 1990, said his judgement on the level of Nigeria’s football development was devoid of bias.

In a recent interview with local media in Nairobi, Kenya, on September 1, he said he would rather watch the English Premier League than the Nigerian league, an opinion which generated some backlash.

The former Bolton Wanderers captain said the league managers should wake up to their responsibilities.

He highlighted solutions to various challenges stunting the growth of the league, such as lack of grassroots development, academies, feeder teams, and live coverage of the league, which must be attended to.

“My position on the NPFL stands. One thing that is for sure is that there is no shortage of talent in Nigeria; the only difference is management and putting structures in place.

“I don’t want to own a club; I would have loved to. But the question is, how will I function when I know I will struggle to win away matches, knowing that those games won’t be televised?” he asked.

Explaining further, Okocha said, “It hurts to see that the efforts we have put in those years have not been built on.

“The league should give us what we are craving for, and that is why I made the statement so that we will all wake up and do the right thing. We need to start attracting investors to our local league.”

The two-time BBC African Footballer of the Year winner advised the league managers to put all necessary structures in place and make the Nigerian league attractive, allowing people like him to get involved.

According to Okocha, local players start learning about the basics of football when they move to Europe and other countries because grassroots football is not at the level it’s supposed to be in the country.

“If you go to some of the clubs in Nigeria, their so-called feeder teams or academies are filled with old men, even older than those in the main team.

“The structure of the league is deficient and would not attract any meaningful development if the errors are not attended to,” he said.

Okocha explained that the Nigerian league had not yet provided the right opportunities for players at home to play to realise their potential, and that was why some fumbled abroad.

On the newfound love for the Saudi Arabian league by big footballers, Okocha said he wouldn’t resist the offers being made by Saudi Arabian clubs himself.

The Borno Police Command arrested 537 people and secured 250 convictions from July 1 to September 30, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Mohammed Lawan, said in a media briefing in Maiduguri on Monday.

Mr Lawan said 537 suspects were arrested for various crimes, including robbery, culpable homicide, gender-based violence, vandalism, and public nuisance within the period.

He lauded Governor Babagana Zulum’s administration for reviewing the Borno Penal Code, which he said facilitated the convictions and prescribed stiffer penalties for criminals.

“The success recorded in timely prosecution and conviction of the suspects is as a result of the recently accented Borno state penal code law 2023.

“This is part of the efforts of the governor in restoration of peace in the state for sustainable growth and development,” said Mr Lawan.

He lauded Borno residents for being security conscious and providing prompt and useful information to the police for necessary action.

Among the suspects arrested is 37-year-old Hamisu Dauda, of Panshani village in Shani LGA, who allegedly raped a 62-year-old woman and robbed her of N42,700.

There was also the case of 25-year-old Umar Goni, who stabbed one Zarami Modu, a 35-year-old man, for allegedly enticing his wife.

Shooting Stars acting general manager, Dimeji Lawal is optimistic that the matchday 2-1 defeat against Bendel Insurance will ginger the team ahead of their subsequent matches.

The Oluyole Warriors suffered their first defeat in the 2023-24 Nigeria Premier Football League season at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Saturday.

An own goal from the Shooting Stars right back, Ghali Falke and Evans Ogbonda gave the Benin Arsenals their first win of the NPFL campaign.

Lawal opined that the players showed a high level of commitment despite the defeat.

“You have been a very committed and disciplined player, very trust worthy. Don’t be deterred by whatever anybody says. For us as a team, we are behind you,” he told the club’s media.

“Let’s put our heads up and not be discouraged by the result of this match.

“You all really represented the club very well and I must commend you, despite the loss.

“The game is gone, the focus should be on the next game against Gombe United which is a must win.”

Barcelona Femeni forward, Asisat Oshoala and goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie top the list of 22 players invited for Super Falcons 2024 Olympic Qualifiers against Ethiopia.

Reliable midfielders, Rasheedat Ajibade, Toni Payne, defenders Osinachi Ohale and Oluwatosin Demehin were also called up for the game.

Michelle Alozie, Christy Ucheibe and Ifeoma Onumonu are the other top stars invited for the games.

Ethiopia will host the first leg of the second-round fixture in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, 25th October with the second leg in Nigeria on Tuesday, 31st October.

Ethiopia eliminated Chad in the first round of the series as nine-time African champions Nigeria drew a bye.

The Super Falcons have failed to attend the last three editions of the Olympics.

They played at the Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2008.